


WAR CATS: Into the Streets

by Ricky B (littletoes101)



Series: WAR CATS [1]
Category: Soul Eater
Genre: Multi, Warrior Cats AU, cat gang au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-15
Updated: 2017-10-16
Packaged: 2019-01-17 14:55:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12368142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littletoes101/pseuds/Ricky%20B
Summary: When the cat-shifter Franken Stein goes looking for his younger “sister” Marie, he never expects to be dragged into the middle of someone else’s turf war. But there’s something about the red-furred Barbary Lion leader of the Fire Clan that draws him in...





	1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Let it be known that this is not a light-hearted tale, or a tale for the faint of heart. It is a tale of blood, of gnashing teeth and black claws glinting in the moonlight. It is a tale of violent turf wars, of altercations and challenges that leave body counts. This is a world where your success is measured in how many corpses you collect, how many teeth are in your collar.

At its core, that is what it is. However, there is something more. This is also a tale of a cat, a cat who only wanted to find his missing sister. A cat whose paws were set on his future path long before he knew he would be following it. A cat who plunged himself into the darkness after a fleeting glimpse of something he could only see out of the corner of his eye.

This is the tale of a cat called Franken Stein – or, rather, _Silver_ – and the events of the summer of 2008, which would go down in infamy among the books of Death City.


	2. Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stein has a dream and gets pounced on.

Stein keeps having the same damned dream. The one where he chases his sister’s tail through the bushes, intent on catching her. He calls her name, but she doesn’t answer. When he passes through the bushes and gets to the other side, he sees a tall rock, with a red-furred, luxuriantly maned lion standing on top of it. Piercing blue eyes meet his, and the lion raises his tail straight up – whether it’s supposed to be a greeting or a warning, he doesn’t know. And then he wakes up.

Recently the dreams have gotten more intense. Stein’s woken up several times to find his paws moving of their own accord, as though he’s really padding through the foliage. They’ve become too tense, too real to ignore.

It isn’t as though he hasn’t considered going after Marie before. She isn’t usually prone to wandering like he is. She’s more of a stay at home kind of cat, but a few months ago, she told him she’d found a new job and was going to be moving somewhere closer to it.

Stein hasn’t heard from her since.

He’s tried reaching her before, but none of his attempts seem to go through. He’s not usually the type of man to worry, but it’s not like his sister to cut off contact.

So now it’s a mix of the dreams, and worry for Marie, that drives him to the streets.

Stein doesn’t like being in his cat form much. While it definitely makes more people uncomfortable to see the silver-furred tiger walking through the streets, there’s something about this form that makes _him_ uncomfortable. But, he has to admit, he has better tracking skills in this form. So he takes on the tiger body as he leaves the patch-stitch lab.

Muscles, well-shaped from years of training, ripple under his fur as he walks, flicking his tail up to reveal the light underside in a distinctive display. It tells the normal humans around him that he means no harm. Were he a wild tiger, it would mean he wasn’t hunting.

Jaws part to reveal gleaming white teeth as he scents the air. Stein’s not sure exactly what he’s scenting for. It’s silly to think he’ll catch his sisters scent on the breeze out here, when the air is filled with car exhaust and the smell of humans.

He does catch the distinct scent of... something. He doesn’t know what it is. Looking back on it, it should’ve been obvious, but he follows the smell into the alleyway without thinking. For such an intelligent man, Stein’s actions are often driven by instinct rather than thought.

He pauses in the middle of the alley as the scent fades, replaced by something else. Stein leans down to sniff at the new scent, and that’s when it happens.

Something pounces on his back.

Stein’s first reaction is to give out a warning hiss, however belated it may be. The creature on his back – he assumes it’s a cat, from the claws digging into his shoulders – gives a hiss in response and clamps strong jaws down on the back of his neck. Stein drops into a roll, hoping his weight will be enough to discourage the cat from doing any further damage.

Success. As his full weight pushes on the other cat, they let go with a growl, and Stein springs to his feet, whirling around to face the attacker. He’s not the type of cat to run from danger, unless he’s obviously outgunned.

The cat stumbling up from the pavement smells to be a female, with a solid black coat and a dash of white on her chest. Her front toes are white as well, and her claws are extended, scraping at the concrete ground. Blue-violet eyes are narrowed, and tufted ears are pinned against her skull. She’s a lynx, but she’s just as big as Stein is. All cat-shifters have a feline form that’s at least the size of a lioness, if not larger, depending on their species.

Stein’s tail lashes back and forth, and he gives a rusty, rolling growl, which the lynx returns. She looks as though she’s about to pounce on him again.

“What are you doing on our territory, intruder?” She spits. “A spy from the Clan of Ravens, perhaps?”

“I’m not a spy,” Stein says as the lynx paces in circles around him. “Just a cat looking for his sister. Would you happen to know where a cat called Marie Mjolnir is?”

“Even if I did know, what makes you think I’d tell you?” Her bobbed tail goes up and down. “Now, how about we stop talking and get back to fighting?”

They both growl, but just as they’re about to pounce at each other again, a familiar voice rings out.

“Stop! That’s _my_ brother.”

“Marie?”

Both of the cats ask, and then stare at each other in confusion. The golden-furred cougar standing at the mouth of the alleyway is the same cat Stein has known since childhood, and yet, she is different somehow. The most obvious difference would be the collar with teeth around her neck. Not studs – teeth. Some are obviously older, because they are more yellowed and dull, but others are brighter and sharper, newer. They’ve been pierced neatly through the brown leather collar.

“You know this cat?” The lynx asks first, jerking her head towards Stein.

His tail lashes back and forth irritably, but before he can say anything, Marie speaks again.

“Yes. Like I said, he’s my brother.” Marie trots up to the two, and gives the lynx a friendly brunting before turning to Stein. “Long time, no see. What’re you doing all the way out here?”

Stein huffs, but leans down to butt his head against hers anyway when she approaches. The lynx looks notably irritated. “I could ask you the same question. What are _you_ doing, and why do you have a collar full of teeth?” He paws at the aforementioned collar, and Marie puts a paw to it herself.

“Oh, this? Well... remember when I told you I had a new job? I wasn’t lying.” Marie sits and curls her tail neatly around her paws. “The Fire Clan needed a new healer, so I offered myself. I thought it might be fun, and give me a chance to settle down.” She lifts one of her back paws and scratches behind her ear nonchalantly.

Stein makes a face. “The Fire Clan? A _gang_? I wouldn’t have thought you’d be the type, Marie.”

“Have you both forgotten that I’m standing _right here_?” The lynx growls from behind Stein, stepping up beside him and narrowing her eyes at Marie. Looking at her now, Stein can see a dark purple collar around her neck, also embedded with teeth. It must have been the gang’s symbol.

“Oh, I haven’t forgotten you, Azusa,” Marie purrs, her tail curling at the tip. “Stein, this is Azusa. She’s my guard, she’s been here much longer than I have.”

“I’m very capable of introducing myself, thank you,” she says, swinging her head back towards Stein again. “What I was going to say is we shouldn’t be socializing with an _outsider_. You know how the Alpha feels about that.”

“It’s not like he’s a random stranger, he’s my brother,” Marie argues. Azusa growls audibly, and Marie reaches out to swat at her face with a huge paw, claws sheathed, but her meaning is clear enough. “Besides, you weren’t so prickly to me when we first met.”

“That was... different,” Azusa says, a bit bashfully as she turns her head away. Just as she does, Marie’s head jerks up, and she turns it towards the front of the alley. “What is it?”

“New scent,” Marie says quickly. “It’s the Alpha.”


End file.
